1/72nd Hasegawa EP-3E Orion, VQ-1, circa 2013

[A-10 LOADER]

I forgot to add this yesterday as a side note.

This is one of two bottles I purchased to use on the prop disks for my AC-J, I figured I'd be doing the same thing for the EP-3. Has anyone else had this issue with the X-22 clear ?? This bottle hasn't even been opened yet. I hope my prop disks on the AC-J don't turn yellow and, needless to say I'll have to find something else to use on the EP-3 disks.

 

Steve

 

 

[Dutch]

Way to go Steve!  I have ruined many a model by not testing as you have done, so lesson learned! Test from now on, especially when mixing paint systems.

[A-10 LOADER]

7 hours ago, Dutch said:

Way to go Steve!  I have ruined many a model by not testing as you have done, so lesson learned! Test from now on, especially when mixing paint systems.

Oh most definitely.

 

Steve

[A-10 LOADER]

Got the gloss coat on the wings and the fuselage tonight, hopefully tomorrow or Monday I can start the decals 🤞.

 

Steve

 

 

Edited September 15, 2024 by A-10 LOADER

[ST0RM]

Nice to see you back at it Steve!

[A-10 LOADER]

3 hours ago, ST0RM said:

Nice to see you back at it Steve!

Thanks Storm. Now that my bathroom renovation is nearing the end I'm hoping to get more bench time in and, wrap this girl up.

 

Steve

[A-10 LOADER]

Managed to get some "personality" added to the old girl last night. My first time using Caracal Decals and they worked very well. The wing walkways were a bit of a challenge as I thought they would be and I had to use one from a second sheet because one tore trying to get it into position ( this is why I purchased 3 sets, just in case ). The "plane of rotation" red stripe I'm avoiding until the end, I think this will be a challenge as well. Hopefully the data and walkways will be offered as separate sheets in the future ?

I left off some decals around the wing root areas because the wing still needs to be attached to the fuselage. Once I get the port side decals on, I'll seal them in with another gloss coat then, attach the wing and blend in the gray then add the decals in that area.

 

Steve

 

 

 

[A-10 LOADER]

All the markings that I can put on for now are applied. Once the wings are glued on, I can blend the gray in the wing root area and, add the last few decals around the window above that area. Instead of using the pieces of the red warning stripe for the prop area that's supplied on the decal sheet, I used a piece of red decal strip from my stash. Doing this as one piece is much easier IMO. The nose number, tail fin cap number and, BUNO's were printed by my buddy Dave Aungst. She's getting there.

 

Steve

 

 

 

[KursadA]

Looking very good!

[Dutch]

Oooh! Just lovely!

[A-10 LOADER]

22 hours ago, KursadA said:

Looking very good!

 

12 hours ago, Dutch said:

Oooh! Just lovely!

Thanks guys and Kursad, great work on the decals.

 

Steve

[A-10 LOADER]

I got the decals sealed in tonight with another coat of gloss. I had heard that if you put too heavy of a gloss coat on, using the Alclad, the surface could remain tacky when you touched it with your bare fingers. Apparently my first coats before decalling were on the heavy side even though I thought they were light. It was slightly tacky, not enough to leave prints but, I didn't want to risk it so I used gloves to finish the decals. She was originally gloss coated on September 14 and a day or two ago I noticed she was dry. I had placed the fuselage and the wings in my Aviation Room which has a dehumidifier in it and, that really helped. So tonight after glossing her again, very lightly, she went back in the room and we'll see how she is tomorrow. Once dry enough to handle I'll glue the wings to the fuselage and blend the GGG paint in on those wing and belly areas and finish the decals.

 

Steve

[A-10 LOADER]

Since the prop disks worked well for my AC-J, I'm gonna do the same thing for the EP-3 and, while I'm at it I'll make a set for my NP-3D. That way if/when I build her this part will already be done. Let the "fun" begin.

 

Steve

 

[wardog]

Great work, Steve! I remember seeing these aircraft on the ramp at Pt. Mugu when I was stationed there back in the late 80's. The squadron was VP-65; they occupied the spaces next VFA-305 which I was assigned to. Not being an attack or fighter plane, I never really paid that much attention to them. However, watching them taxi in/out from the ramp was always fun simply because of the cool sound of their turboprop engines. The planes would also pass through a water-wash station prior to parking.

 

 

E. 

[Nate]

Dumb question going all the way back to the beginning of your project - how did you seal the edges of your MDF base to make it as smooth as the top?

 

You made it sound easy, but I've always ended up doing a ton of sanding. I've tried joint compound, super glue, Mr. Surfacer, and high-build primer with mixed results and haven't really settled on a process...

 

TIA, model looks awesome!

[A-10 LOADER]

15 hours ago, wardog said:

Great work, Steve! I remember seeing these aircraft on the ramp at Pt. Mugu when I was stationed there back in the late 80's. The squadron was VP-65; they occupied the spaces next VFA-305 which I was assigned to. Not being an attack or fighter plane, I never really paid that much attention to them. However, watching them taxi in/out from the ramp was always fun simply because of the cool sound of their turboprop engines. The planes would also pass through a water-wash station prior to parking.

 

 

E. 

 

Thanks very much Wardog.

9 hours ago, Nate said:

Dumb question going all the way back to the beginning of your project - how did you seal the edges of your MDF base to make it as smooth as the top?

 

You made it sound easy, but I've always ended up doing a ton of sanding. I've tried joint compound, super glue, Mr. Surfacer, and high-build primer with mixed results and haven't really settled on a process...

 

TIA, model looks awesome!

Thanks Nate.

I'll sand my MDF edges with 220 then apply 2 coats of primer (spray can ) to the base, building up the edges until the primer doesn't want to sink in anymore. I'll give it a few days to dry followed by another sanding with 320 then 2 more coats of primer. If everything looks good at that point I'll spray the final color ( spray can ). If not, another round of primer. A few more days to dry then I apply my sticker to the base, sand the back of the base to remove all the over spray then add some cabinet door bumpers for feet or some felt.

The bases are a lot of work and I don't rush them, you have to allow plenty of drying time but, I think they are worth the effort. HTH

 

Steve

 

 

Edited September 26, 2024 by A-10 LOADER

[A-10 LOADER]

I got the wings glued to the fuselage. The seams worked out great, hardly any cleanup is needed. Next I'll blend in the Gloss Gull Gray where needed and finish up the decals. She's starting to come together.

 

Steve

 

 

 

 

[striker8241]

Absolutely superlative work, Steve!  Makes me want to toss my build into the trash lol!

[A-10 LOADER]

3 hours ago, striker8241 said:

Absolutely superlative work, Steve!  Makes me want to toss my build into the trash lol!

Thanks, very kind of you. That's how I feel when Drew T. posts his updates.

 

Steve

[RichB63]

Wow, looking great Steve!

Rich

[Nate]

Thanks for the info, I'll try that method next time - I felt like I was doing something wrong and that you could never actually spray enough primer to seal the edges, so it's good to know I just needed 4 more coats of primer. The sanding the over spray off the backside when you're done is genius.

 

Thanks!

[A-10 LOADER]

10 hours ago, RichB63 said:

Wow, looking great Steve!

Rich

Thanks Rich.

 

9 hours ago, Nate said:

Thanks for the info, I'll try that method next time - I felt like I was doing something wrong and that you could never actually spray enough primer to seal the edges, so it's good to know I just needed 4 more coats of primer. The sanding the over spray off the backside when you're done is genius.

 

Thanks!

The key to keeping the edges from soaking up the primer is sanding. The finer the grit sandpaper you use helps to close up the "pores" of the end grain on the MDF. I stop at 220, you could try 320, 400 or, 600 and see what happens.

 

Steve

[A-10 LOADER]

Spent most of the morning at the scroll saw cutting out the prop disks. I cut 16 so hopefully I can get 8 good ones and a few to "test" the colors on. Now to sand these up and see what we get.

Steve

 

[A-10 LOADER]

Since I'm building this actual airframe, EP-3E 156511, I thought I'd add this bit of info to my build thread. On Monday 10/21/24 I was sitting at the bench working on the prop disks and had the computer on. I was watching ADS-B ( aircraft tracking website ) and noticed a P-3 icon appear near Whidbey Island heading south so I clicked on it and it was 156511. I followed her all the way to Davis-Monthan AFB where she finally touched down at @ 1300 hours local. I had a feeling this would be her last flight 😥. Turns out she was turned over to The Pima Air and Space Museum yesterday. Kind of ironic and sad I caught her last flight but, glad she's being saved and not scrapped.

Steve

[Mr.Happy]

Steve,

 

Your EP-3 is shaping up very nicely. 
 

Thank you for sharing your building experience with this kit.

 

I’ve got the Hasegawa P-3C on my to do work bench and just picked us the Caracal decal set. 
 

Your build is going to bookmarked so I can follow some of the steps to make not of.

 

Keep up your good work and I’m looking forward to your next post.

 

Mr. Happy